More than 40 members of the choir, under the direction of Steven Warner, will be featured at the free concert on Sunday, May 26, at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit on the SHU campus.

Jim Farrington, president of the Notre Dame Club of Fairfield County (class of 1974), said the choir will perform a diverse program of international music, including selections from Ireland, the United States, France, Mexico, Russia, China and Africa -- sung primarily in four-part harmony.

The choir brings its own musicians, who double as singers. Flute, organ, violin, guitar, string bass, Celtic harp, cello and bodhrán (Irish drum) are among the instruments that will be featured, he explained.

"This is a renowned group, very well trained," said Farrington, whose club is the event sponsor. "Every year the choir goes on a tour, alternating between Europe and the United States."

This year, the tour runs Monday, May 20, to Sunday, June 2, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, he added.

"I think the general public will find this to be an outstanding concert and a little less formal" than many choral events, he said.

More Information

Farrington said the choir was formed in 1980 by Warner as one the Catholic university's principal liturgical choirs, incorporating "folk" in its name as a reflection of the popularity of folk Masses of the time that brought modern music and guitars into the Catholic liturgy.

The 43 group members on tour will be hosted by the club during the Connecticut swing.

Chorus director Warner received a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from St. Michael's College in Vermont, where he then served as director of liturgy for two years. At the University of Notre Dame, he received a master's degree in theology and liturgy in 1980.

When he founded the choir, it consisted of eight vocalists; it now includes about 60 singers, instrumentalists, an associate director and several student assistants.

According to the choir's website, many of its musical "arrangements are exclusive to the folk choir, having been arranged by their directors and a variety of other composers active in the field of sacred music -- most notably, Rev. Chrysogonus Waddell, former choirmaster of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.

"Our choral library is enhanced by ... some selections by the great masters. And even the classic hymn tunes of our early American tradition contribute to our work. Choral music from the African continent, exuberantly performed ... and accompanied by an array of percussion instruments, is featured prominently in our repertoire.

"While the choir is primarily an undergraduate organization, there is an increasing number of graduate students, faculty and professional staff from the university who have joined in recent years. The camaraderie between students and professionals within the academic community is one of the things that makes this group unique at Notre Dame," the university says.